Both stories express the concern that in the developed world, the US and the UK in particular, working for Amazon and others as an independent contractor is a very tough way to make a living. The NPR show explored the deeper question of where work is going vis-a-vie benefits, pay, work rules, etc. Everyone agreed that the old 40-hour workweek to which the social safety net and individual benefits are tied is broken in the gig economy. The question left at the end of the NPR discussion was: “what do we do now, in the immediate to address this?”

The 40-hour workweek, corporate benefit provider model built up after WWII in the United States and fortified by labor unions is dying, dying very quickly. If your children are recent college graduates or you are a laid off employee in manufacturing, retail, or many other industries then you are aware of how different today is than just a few years ago regarding finding full-time work with benefits. It is very disheartening. But that won’t stop the machines and AI and online shopping changes that are here today and will only expand in the future.

Sadly, many people, like the US Congress and ideologues of all stripes have their heads stuck in the sand, to put it politely on what can or should be done to address these work and life issues. Meanwhile, technological change continues, and should continue, but human society and institutions are woefully unprepared.